Friday, June 8, 2018

Lowcountry Rainfall for May 2018 sets All-Time Record

Weather records provide good baseline data

Predicting the weather is always tough, but no one guessed
that May of 2018 would be the wettest May on record for many portions of the
Lowcountry. The entire state experienced wet weather in May and the S.C.
Drought Response Committee met on May 29, removing Colleton County from the
incipient drought category. We look to weather records to compare recent
activity with past weather cycles, and the results for rainfall during the
month of May are fascinating. Factoring in that the first named storm of
hurricane season arrived on Memorial Day, the forecast for continued wet
weather look likely.

Alberto arrived on Memorial Day 2018

The month
of April brought cooler than expected temperatures and less than average
rainfall. In fact, thirteen counties were listed in incipient drought, and the
threat of wildfire was real. “Recent rainfall, along with higher humidity, has
helped reduce the number of wildfires statewide,” said Brad Bramlett with the
S.C. Forestry Commission. “We were well over our five-year and ten-year
averages for the number of fires just a month ago.”

Records show that the average
rainfall for May in Walterboro from 2013 to 2017 was just 3.65-inches, but that
trend came to a halt in 2018. Rainfall records in S.C. began in the 1930’s and
the Charleston airport measured 10.62-inches of rain in May of 2018, the new
record for wettest month of May. The community of Smoaks in western Colleton
County also recorded 10-inches of rain in May, while the city of Walterboro and
other parts of Colleton county saw rainfall amounts vary.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.